WEEK 54: Sweetness

ST JOHNS, FLORIDA

COMPANION:  ELDER BORE

"Several members of the ward, especially our Ward Mission Leader and

his family, insist that I have a very distinctive Californian accent.

I thought I'd give today's letter a title that matched.

Guess what? Vicki and Nelson got baptized. I did Vicki's baptism and

Nelson's confirmation, Elder Bore did Nelson's baptism and Vicki's

confirmation. We'll get back to that. For now, there are not words.

Aubrey (11) and her father Darrell (45) have set baptism dates as

well. And Tommy is still excited for his. Dates are 9/6, 10/1, and

9/20, respectively. I will tell you. No, there is too much, I will sum

up.

On Wednesday, we were at scripture class at the church and we got a

text from the bishop telling us the font was open for a baptism the

following day. So we stopped what we were doing and took Aubrey and

Darrell into the baptism font, bore our testimonies of baptism, and

role-played baptizing Aubrey ("Here, let us show you how it works.

Aubrey, will you help us?") Three days before, they both said they

would never join the church. The next time we saw them, they were

demanding we bring them jumpsuits to try on.

Did the doctrine change? Did my teaching style change? Was it

something I planned? Was it anything I could possibly do? Sigh. The

Spirit takes care of it. We teach by the spirit a lot. We are teaching

a family who has an objection to EVERYTHING. Everything. What we ask,

what we say, who we bring to lessons, the topic of the talks in

church, stories we tell, verses we read, everything. There is at least

a solid half an hour at the beginning of every meeting of us listening

to their objections. And at the end of the shpeel we say, "We love you

so much. The Church is true. Today we have a message to share about

such-and-such. May we start with a prayer?" We pray, the spirit is

there, and their objections are as the morning mist, burned off by the

fire and the light.

So, that's nice.

There are trials now and then. They just make life more exciting. And

it is WARM! I have discovered I love the heat. We will be standing

outside at 9 pm and POURING sweat and I'll be happy as a clam. Our

bikes work like a dream, we were awarded extra miles to drive for

having an especially clean car at zone conference, and most of all,

Vicki and Nelson got baptized.

Alright, I am ready.

Their baptism was absolutely magical. It was crazy, but magical. I had

only had one baptism before this in what is now almost a year of

full-time missionary service, so to have two in a day was pretty

exciting. I discovered I have many talents, and planing baptism

services is not one of them! Perhaps that is why Father has been

withholding them. But people pretty much know the drill without being

walked through it, right? It was great. There was enough water in the

font (well, ish. It was about thigh-high. But we got them all the way

under so you know, success) and we said their names right (actually we

got Nelson's completely wrong but we called President and he said

"Close enough!") so I'd give it five stars for sure.

Hehehehee.

And then yesterday we confirmed them members of the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints, and conferred upon them the gift of the

Holy Ghost. I have performed the baptism ordinance before (for Duncan,

Cassidy, and Ciera) but that was my first experience conferring the

Gift of the Holy Ghost. In the blessing, I used a unique phrase. It

burst into my brain and stood radiating, waiting to be used. I

promised Nelson that he would, "feel to sing the song of redeeming

love". And Brothers and Sisters, I feel so now.

How mighty is our God! He has shaped the universe! He has molded

creation! And far greater still, He has molded the human soul. All

glory, laud and honor to Him, our Heavenly King! Let fear and fire

tremble, let wretched Satan flee. For God our Father raised His voice,

and at His word, all men are free. All men! Amen.

A mighty fortress is our God! None from Him are lost. All people know,

all kingdoms grown, through His immortal power! Oh wondrous is that

godly work that bursts from every shaft. A shattered sky, an open

h'vn! And darkness gasped it's last!

A mighty angel here has come! Restored His glorious news! And filled

with love from up above I race to speak His truths. Oh mighty Master,

how can we e're praise Thee enough? It fills me up, Thy love for me

and love for these explodes from every fold. Visions open to my eyes,

and dreams awake in my heart. I see the heavens bathed in light and

streets all paved in gold.

A mighty Regent is our King! That Savior, Son of God. Wonderful,

Counselor, Shepherd, Priest, and Lamb. Sanctified and justified,

sacrificed, and free. Free from hell! Free from death; shackles, bond

and beast! That animal within my breast denied, the ugly brute

released. Make us more Redeemer. Save us from that Hell. Deliver us

Immanuel. He does. He did. Sweet Jesus... Oh... Can tongue tell?

Can any tongue come, praise my Lord? Are there any ears to hear?

Speech does not but chain me! Weak sight and sound but bind... For

like the rushing of great waters and the fire of the sun, the glory of

Messiah comes into my mind.

Oh blessed name! Oh righteous God. His name is all to me. Restoration

of my virtue, and sweet nectar of my liberty. I have tasted of His

SWEETNESS! I have seen! My eyes still now behold! I can stand as

witness. I can testify. I can rebuke the fallen state of heart and

soul and earth and man and mind for I have seen a miracle! I have been

a tool. An instrument from which burst a symphony pulsating sound and

light and wonder and vision and hue! Oh God! Oh sweet Jesus. A man of

sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He was wounded for our

transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of

our peace was upon Him. My peace. That sweet release of peace I

shrivel without... And with His stripes, we are healed. Alleluia.

Alleluia!! Hosanna! Hallelujah! ALLELUIA. How wondrous is Thy power. I

need Thee, oh I need Thee. Every moment, every hour.

I feel to sing, my brothers. Come and praise with me. Come let us

adore him, the Man of Galilee! Born in David's City, foreordained,

chosen, called, exalted, glorified! Resurrected! Champion! High

Priest! Light! Way! Word! Jehovah. God. First of Elohim. The Lamb.

Oh... My Lamb! Weep for me! All we, like sheep, have gone astray!

Master, Maker, champion and chief... We turned... We turned every one

to his own way! And what are we, that Thou art mindful of us? I know.

I know that man is nothing, which thing I had never supposed. But

Jesus! But Father... The tempest is raging. Deliver us. Rescue me.

How mighty is our God? He clothes even the lilies of the field with

more magnificence than Solomon arrayed in all his glory. He has

crafted the eternities. He has conquered death. By the power of His

Only Begotten, He hath cast out that lucifer and all his vile host. By

the blood of the Lamb He hath cleansed our fragile souls! Filthiness

made Celestial! Bestial made new. A broken vessel was I once; He let

His light shine through. Angels sing and stars ignite and intelligence

expand and life must mold and seas split and continents migrate and

space collapses and heavens shine and time quavers and man exalted at

His word and pleasure. Why not then Vicki? Why not Nelson? Why not

then His 50 or yea His tens of thousands?? Why not me? Let them come,

and see where the Master dwelleth! Clothed in white, let them ignite

that spark of the Divine. Let them look, and live.

Look and LIVE! See the Church! Read the Book! Have but a glance of the

light that shines from my countenance and renders me utterly

unrecognizable to even my own self. Why will ye die when such a

marvelous work and a wonder rolls forth as a stone cut without hands

to shatter the kingdoms of the earth and ransom captive Israel? A

mighty Lord is ours. Invincible our cause. Glory, laud and honor. All

glory to our King. My God.

And now perhaps you have a glimpse of that roiling sea of joy that

floods every tingling mite of matter of my soul! Now perhaps you have

a gasp of that sweet breath of life whirling from His unutterable name

emblazoned within my meager breast. Let it be known and let it be told

and let it stand from all eternity to all eternity, unto glory or

condemnation, that I have tasted, and do KNOW of His goodness. I have

been visited of the Lord not in flesh but by the power of the Holy

Ghost and do KNOW and witness and testify of His matchless glory.

Abinadi aflame, Stephen stoned, Peter crucified, Abel slain, Jeremiah

languishing, Moroni alone, Mormon hunted, Joseph martyred... All do

count such trifles a privilege beside the magnificence of such a

knowledge. A child's knowledge is mine, an infant's grasp... But ever

will it grow, and ever will this testimony, MY testimony, stand. It is

my own and though the heavens and the earth shall pass away it shall

not pass away for it is rooted an entwined with the holy Word of God

and it shall be fulfilled.

Now I would commend you to seek this Jesus, for where else shall we

go? He hath the words of eternal life. He is the Christ, the Son of

the living God! I saw Him work a miracle this week. I see Him work in

me. Immanuel, Immanuel... He still sets me free.

You are my friends. I love you. That, at least, I can manage to say in

simplicity. I love you. Have a fantastic week.

~Elder Jorgensen"

WEEK 53: First, a Story

ST. JOHNS, FLORIDA

COMPANION:  ELDER BORE

DISTRICT LEADER

Usually I talk very much in these letters! Let's shake it up today
with a story from Richard Thurman as quoted by Vaughn J Featherstone.

“No one in our Utah town knew where the Countess had come from; her
carefully precise English indicated that she was not a native
American. From the size of her house and staff we knew that she must
be wealthy, but she never entertained and she made it clear that when
she was at home she was completely inaccessible. Only when she stepped
outdoors did she become at all a public figure--and then chiefly to
the small fry of the town, who lived in awe of her.

“The countess always carried a cane, not only for support, but as a
means of chastising any youngster she thought needed disciplining. And
at one time or another most of the kids in our neighborhood seemed to
display that need. By running fast and staying alert, I had managed to
keep out of her reach. But one day when I was about thirteen, as I was
short-cutting through her hedge, she got close enough to rap my head
with her stick.

“‘Ouch!’ I yelled, jumping a couple of feet.

“‘Young man, I want to talk to you,’ she said. I was expecting a
lecture on the evils of trespassing, but as she looked at me, half
smiling, she seemed to change her mind.

“‘Don’t you live in that green house with the willow trees in the next block?’

“‘Yes, ma’am.’ …

“‘Good. I’ve lost my gardener. Be at my house Thursday morning at
seven, and don’t tell me you have something else to do; I’ve seen you
slouching around on Thursdays.’

“When the Countess gave an order, it was carried out. I didn’t dare
not come on that next Thursday. I went over the whole lawn three times
with a mower before she was satisfied, and then she had me down on all
fours looking for weeds until my knees were as green as the grass. She
finally called me up to the porch.

“‘Well, young man, how much do you want for your day’s work?’

“‘I don’t know. Fifty cents, maybe.’

“‘Is that what you figure you’re worth?”

“‘Yes’m. About that.’

“‘Very well. Here’s the fifty cents you say you’re worth, and here’s
the dollar and a half more that I’ve earned for you by pushing you.
Now I’m going to tell you something about how you and I are going to
work together. There are as many ways of mowing a lawn as there are
people, and they may be worth anywhere from a penny to five dollars.
Let’s say that a three-dollar job would be just what you have done
today, except that you’d have to be something of a fool to spend that
much time on a lawn. A five-dollar lawn is--well, it’s impossible, so
we’ll forget about that. Now then, each week I’m going to pay you
according to your own evaluation of your work.’

“I left with my two dollars, richer than I remembered being in my
whole life, and determined that I would get four dollars out of her
the next week. But I failed to reach even the three dollar mark. My
will began to falter the second time around her yard.

“‘Two dollars again,’ eh? That kind of job puts you right on the edge
of being dismissed, young man.’

“‘Yes’m. But I’ll do better next week.’

“And somehow I did. The last time around the lawn I was exhausted, but
I found I could spur myself on. In the exhilaration of that new
feeling, I had no hesitation in asking the Countess for three dollars.

“Each Thursday for the next four or five weeks, I varied between a
three-and a three-and-a-half dollar job. The more I became more
acquainted with her lawn, places where the ground was a little high or
a little low, places where it needed to be clipped short or left long
on the edges to make a more satisfying curve along the garden, the
more I became aware of just what a four-dollar lawn would consist of.
And each week I would resolve to do just that kind of a job. But by
the time I had made my three dollar or three and-a-half dollar mark I
was too tired to remember even having had the ambition to go beyond
that.

“‘You look like a good consistent $3.50 man,’ she would say as she
handed me the money.

“‘I guess so’ I would say, too happy at the sight of the money to
remember that I had shot for something higher.

“‘Well, don’t feel too bad,’ she would comfort me. ‘After all, there
are only a handful of people in the world who could do a four-dollar
job.’

“And her words were a comfort at first, but then, without my noticing
what was happening, her comfort became an irritant that made me
resolve to do that four-dollar job, even if it killed me. In the fever
of my resolve, I could see myself expiring on her lawn, with the
Countess leaning over me, handing me the four dollars with a tear in
her eye, begging my forgiveness for having thought I couldn’t do it.

“It was in the middle of such a fever, one Thursday night when I was
trying to forget the day’s defeat and get some sleep, that the truth
hit me so hard that I sat upright, half choking in my excitement. It
was the five-dollar job I had to do, not the four-dollar one! I had to
do the job that no one could do because it was impossible.

“I was well acquainted with the difficulties ahead. I had the problem,
for example, of doing something about the worm mounds in the lawn. The
Countess might not even have noticed them yet, they were so small; but
in my bare feet I knew about them and I had to do something about
them. And I could go on trimming the garden edges with shears, but I
knew that a five-dollar lawn demanded that I line up each edge exactly
with a yard stick and then trim it precisely with the edger. And there
were other problems that only I and my bare feet knew about.

“I started the next Thursday by ironing out the worm mounds with a
heavy roller. After two hours of that I was ready to give up for the
day. Nine o’clock in the morning, and my will was already gone! It was
only by accident that I discovered how to regain it. Sitting under a
walnut tree for a few minutes after finishing the rolling, I fell
asleep. When I woke up minutes later, the lawn looked so good and felt
so good under my feet, I was anxious to get on with the job.

“I followed this secret for the rest of the day, dozing for a few
minutes every hour to regain my perspective and replenish my strength.
Between naps, I mowed four times, two times lengthwise, two times
across, until the lawn looked like a green velvet checkerboard. Then I
dug around every tree, crumbling the big clods and smoothing the soil
with my hands, then finished with the edger, meticulously lining up
each stroke so that the effect would be perfectly symmetrical. And I
carefully trimmed the grass between the flagstones of the front walk.
The shears wore my fingers raw, but the walk never looked better.

“Finally about eight o’clock that evening … it was all completed. I
was so proud I didn’t even feel tired when I went up to her door.

“‘Well, what is it today?’ she asked.

“‘Five dollars,’ I said, trying for a little calm and sophistication.

“‘Five dollars? You mean four dollars, don’t you? I told you that a
five-dollar lawn job isn’t possible.’

“‘Yes it is. I just did it.’

“‘Well, young man, the first five-dollar lawn in history certainly
deserves some looking around.’

“We walked about the lawn together in the light of evening, and even I
was quite overcome by the impossibility of what I had done.

“‘Young man,’ she said, putting her hand on my shoulder, ‘what on
earth made you do such a crazy, wonderful thing?’

“I didn’t know why, but even if I had, I could not have explained it
in the excitement of hearing that I had done it.

“‘I think I know,’ she continued, ‘how you felt when this idea first
came to you of caring for a lawn that I told you was impossible. It
made you very happy when it first came, then a little frightened. Am I
right?’

“She could see she was right by the startled look on my face.

“‘I know how you felt, because the same thing happens to almost
everyone. They feel this sudden burst in them of wanting to do some
great thing. They feel a wonderful happiness, but then it passes
because they have said, “No, I can’t do that. It’s impossible.”
Whenever something in you says, “It’s impossible,” remember to take a
careful look and see if it isn’t really God asking you to grow an
inch, or a foot, or a mile, that you may come to a fuller life.’ …

“Since that time, some 25 years ago, when I have felt myself at an end
with nothing before me, suddenly, with the appearance of that word,
‘impossible,’ I have experienced the unexpected lift, the leap inside
me, and known that the only possible way lay through the very middle
of impossible.” (Richard Thurman, “The Countess and the Impossible,”
Reader’s Digest, June, 1958.)
“The Gospel of Jesus Christ Is the Golden Door”
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1973/10/the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-is-the-golden-door?lang=eng

What a marvelous story!!! I enjoyed it. I hope you did as well.

There is another story. This one I will not quote at length. It is the
story of the man born blind, who was healed by Jesus Christ. Not
knowing anything of His Lord, he was questioned by the leaders of the
Jews. They accused his Healer of being corrupt, of being a sinner.
This was his response:

"Whether He be a sinner or no, I know not, one thing I know, that
whereas I was blind, now I see."

That was his testimony, as was the testimony of the man who penned
that timeless verse, "I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind,
but now I see..."

Is that not enough?? Later, when the council continued to reject the
righteousness of Jesus, this once-blind man went on... (Emphasis
added)

"Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence He is.
And yet he hath OPENED my EYES! Now we knoweth that God heareth not
sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and doeth His will him
He heareth! Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened
the eyes of one that was born blind. If this Man were not of God He
could do nothing."

Come now, and hear the words of one who was blind. The Book of Mormon:
Another Testament of Jesus Christ, gives sight to the souls of men. It
has opened my heart! It hath opened my eyes. If it were not of God it
would be nothing. For it claims to be nothing but of God! And it is
not nothing. It is nectar to the soul, it is the power of illumination
somehow channeled into prose. It is of our Holy God. And whether I
shall be found, at His marvelous judgement day, to be a sinner or no,
I know not. One thing I know. That whereas I was blind, now I see.

And oh what a marvelous destiny I see! I see temple sealings and
thrones on high. I see mansions prepared in the kingdom of my Father.
I see joy, and peace, and gladness. I see multitudes clothed in white,
wrapped in light. I see it! Not millions, but billions. Come and see!
Behold, with me, a royal army!

Is it not enough for we who, like sheep, have gone astray, and turned
every one to his own way? Is much circumstance and speech necessary?
One thing need we know, does it make us, now, to see?

My testimony is that it does. The Book of Mormon, the words of Thomas
S. Monson and of Joseph Smith, the ministry of Jesus Christ and,
ultimately, the love of my Heavenly Father, are the light by which
mankind seeth. There is but one other way, which is that of the blind.
So come. Come, and see.

Such is our invitation to the world. We extend it in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

WEEK 52: RISE!!!

Life is pretty great! The ward is INTENSELY involved in the work,
every day ward members are calling us and new families are popping up
on our radar to get more involved and to work through to fellowship
investigators. The ward council is a powerful tool for good here. The
auxiliaries reach past Sunday into the week and are changing the
nature of the work! It is an incredible thing to be a part of! It is
an incredible area to serve in.

And we are seeing the results! Three baptism dates on for this month,
with twice that many solid potentials for September. The work is
exploding! The work is hastening. We love these people. We love this
work.

And this week, I made mistakes! Shoot! Some were little and already
forgotten. Some were not little. The not little ones make you want to
judge yourself. The not little ones make you want to give up! Everyone
feels this, it's almost so common as to be mundane. But it's not
mundane. It's terrifying. Which is why we have prophets to say things
like this:

Letters Home

WEEK 51: What's In a Name?

Sometimes I wonder what I really do as a missionary. I was walking
down the street the other day, and it was pouring rain, for about the
7th time that day (the storm blew over us and then the wind changed
direction and brought it back... All day. And we were tracting. For
five hours) just wandering around, knocking on doors, saying whatever
I felt like saying to whomever I felt like talking to. And apparently
it was incredibly successful, but I wondered, what was I doing? Just
trying to give away happiness.

“Earth gets its price from what Earth gives us;
The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in. …
We bargain for the graves we lie in;
At the devil’s booth are all things sold,
Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold;
For a cap and bells our lives we pay,
Bubbles we buy with a whole soul’s tasking.
For ’tis heaven alone that is given away,
’Tis only God may be had for the asking. …”
(“The Vision of Sir Launfal,” Stanza 3.)

Nothing is free, except for everything that matters. Nothing matters,
except for that which makes us free.

One thing I AM doing is learning. Yearning and learning.

“Four things a man must learn to do,
If he would make a record true,
To think without confusion clearly,
To love his fellowmen sincerely,
To act from honest motives purely,
To trust in God and heaven securely.”
~Henry Van Dyke

My thinking is confused, for sure. But I do sincerely love. I love
these people! They are smart and successful and hard-working and
fast-paced. They feel deeply, they are raw, they are generous and
kind. They are demanding. They are powerful. They are clear-eyed and
creative and passionately engaged. They are exciting. And every single
one of them belongs in his Church.

"I bear you my witness that there isn’t a man or a woman in this world
who really loves the Lord with all their heart who wouldn’t join this
church if they would just take time to find out what it is, for I know
that it is God’s eternal truth."
~LeGrand Richards

And that's why I'm here. That's why I came. Because I know it isn't a
church for Americans or Utahns or the middle class or people who like
reading. One thing people say to us a lot when we knock on their door
is, "Oh, we're not Mormons." And we say, "We know. That's why we're
here!"

Sometimes people don't like that very much. Occasionally people yell
and chase and whatnot. One man this week called the police on us. He
was riding his golf cart down the road, saw us, and took most of the
rest of his afternoon to threaten, complain, and harass. The officer
who came liked us quite a bit, let the golf cart man know that we were
not, in fact, soliciting, and the golf cart man went on his merry way.

It was a little frightening, honestly, having this man threaten and
rail, and having the police come. It was a little frightening to keep
right on knocking. But that's how we do it. We do not doubt, and we do
not fear.

"The standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop
the work from progressing, persecutions may rage, mobs may combine,
armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go
forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every
continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in
every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the
great Jehovah shall say the work is done”
~Joseph Smith

Sometimes, in spite of everything, in spite of all my ridiculous
weaknesses, I find pride lurking in my heart. PRIDE! In ME! In all my
absurdity, in all my weakness, in the miracles I am engulfed by every
day, still I find a moment to be proud. Still I make the time for
arrogance. How can it be?? Perhaps I grow lax in my awareness of the
magnificence of my calling, and begin to slip into attributing some of
that glory to myself.

Pride is enmity between men. When we attribute our glory to God,
enmity between men ceases. When our object is the Kingdom, suddenly
all mankind is our partner. We are teammates with EVERYONE, and every
success is a joy to us! What a wonder that would be! Freedom from
pride is happiness indeed. Every advance, every success, every
achievement and progression and love and light and laugh is your own.

It should be so easy, particularly for me. If only humility was in any
way connected to destitution. I'd be guaranteed! Oh remember, Helaman
says. Remember remember

Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire--
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet
Lest we forget--lest we forget!
~Rudyard Kipling

We worked very hard. Tommy came to church. Our ward is piloting a new
fellowship program for the mission, which puts us into contact with
the stake presidency and the high council... a lot. President has
expressed concern that I'm up for it! Which is fair. Sometimes I'm
concerned I'm up for even putting my pants on straight! So, you know,
I pray. But can I tell you the secret to happiness? Can I tell you the
secret to strength?

All strength is a gift. None of it is ours. The Lord lends it to us to
accomplish His purposes. What a wonderful Lord He is. What a merciful
Father. And so the secret to strength is to devote oneself to the
accomplishment of His purposes.

Happiness, it turns out, is a choice, and a commandment. We are
instructed to choose to be happy. Sometimes it is hard to make that
choice. Sometimes it is hard to follow through. Sometimes I would
rather be lazy, or entertained, or excited, or asleep, than happy. But
we are commanded to be happy! It's important to live life in such a
way that that commandment is simple for us, but no coercion of
circumstance can replace the power of choice. Only wickedness makes it
impossible to choose happiness.

Happy, and strong, that's what I pray for. Prayer is important. Prayer
can be grand.

O God, our Eternal Father, Thou great Judge of the Nations, Thou who
art the governor of the universe, Thou who art our Father and our God,
whose children we are, we look to Thee in faith in this dark and
solemn time. Please, dear Father, bless us with faith. Bless us with
love. Bless us with charity in our hearts. Bless us with a spirit of
perseverance to root out the terrible evils that are in this world.
Give protection and guidance to those who are engaged actively in
carrying forth the things of battle. Bless them; preserve their lives;
save them from harm and evil. Hear the prayers of their loved ones for
their safety. We pray for the great democracies of the earth which
Thou hast overseen in creating their governments, where peace and
liberty and democratic processes obtain. O Father, look with mercy
upon this, our own nation, and its friends in this time of need. Spare
us and help us to walk with faith ever in Thee and ever in Thy Beloved
Son, on whose mercy we count and to whom we look as our Savior and our
Lord. Bless the cause of peace and bring it quickly to us again, we
humbly plead with Thee, asking that Thou wilt forgive our arrogance,
pass by our sins, be kind and gracious to us, and cause our hearts to
turn with love toward Thee. We humbly pray in the name of Him who
loves us all, even the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and our Savior,
amen.
~President Gordon B. Hinckley, closing remarks in the first conference
after the 9/11 attacks.

I will be here. I will be praying. I met some wonderful people this
week. And I got some good advice. We found and messaged (via Facebook)
an Elder who had been extremely successful in this area a couple of
years ago. We asked him for the secret. His advice was: "Make certain
the people know how much you love them."

I love you. I love you because we are Brothers and Sisters. I love you
enough to leave for a little while so that we can be together forever.
I love you because you are bright and evolving and beautiful and
glorious and grand. I love you because you listen, and because you
love me. I love your weakness, just as I love my master's scars. I
love your imperfections, exactly as much as I love my Savior's grace.
I love your letters, I love your thoughts. I love you. And I love Him.

I testify of my Savior, and bear my meager witness of His name. I am
not an Apostle, but I am an apostle, and I have a witness to share. He
is indeed Wonderful. He is the Counselor. Omega and Alpha. A Fortress.
A Solace. He is the Light, the Resurrection, the Life. He is Prince of
Peace and Lord of Lords. He is the Father of my Spirit. He is God. He
is the Son. He is the Creator. Mediator. Advocate. Friend. He is the
Messiah, the Christ, the Hope of Israel and the Mighty One. Jehovah.
Only Begotten. Rabboni. Beloved. Everlasting. Master. To know His name
is to know Him. I am learning. I will try.

For now my name is Elder. I like my name. I worked HARD for my name.
My name is Elder Jorgensen, and I have a witness, borne to my eternal
soul by the incomparable power of the Holy Spirit of God, that Jesus
is the Christ, that the Book of Mormon is true and divine, and that
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom
once again established upon the earth, preparatory to the second
coming of the Messiah. In the name, the cherished, sacred name, of
Jesus Christ, Amen.

~Elder Jorgensen